Metal Reviews

bah! Judas Priest and other bands released albums that are considered classics and all, albums that would be outdone, but metallica are the only ones getting shit. stop trying to be 'elite' :roll:

it-s one thing to not like it, i don-t like Priest, for example, but they, due to their tremendous importance, have total respect from my part. even though i dislike most of their music i dare not say that there is something 'sucky' about it. and if A or B come out and name something from them a Classic here, i can only agree.

if Metallica hadn' taken a wrong turn later in their career... most of thir critics would stay shut. and either way fact is THEIR PRESENT DOESN-T ALTER THEIR PAST!!!

But present circumstances, and all the albums that have been released since 1986, allow us to re-evaluate the past.

Are you really saying that Master of Puppets is the greatest album Metallica ever released, the greatest album EVER RELEASED by ANY metal band, thus making the last 19 years of metal albums and various new genres discovered and made popular since then were all completely pointless, because Metallica had already produced the greatest heavy metal album of all time?

Please.

"acoustic interlude at the beginning of Battery erupt into a deep melody, followed by that relentless galloping riff"

I first heard Battery at a listening station at HMV and was simply amazed. I must have played the beginning about 20 times before actually listening to the whole song

I still gives me the chills when i'm listening to it in the car with the volume up and the "DU-DU-DUN ... " comes on.

ciao

The only reason Metallica is getting shit here is because Metallica's Master of Puppets is the album we are discussing. You know, there are people who don't think some Judas Priest albums are classics. Check the Sad Wings of Destiny thread, where some people (*gasp!) said that they disagreed with the fact that it was classic. However, instead of doing what you did and calling everyone elitist because they don't like a popular metal album as much as others do, defenders of the album, such as I, actually defended our position without name calling! I know, its a crazy concept, but I swear to you, it works!



If you dare not say that there is something sucky about Priest even though you don't like it, its probably because you're a complete pansy. You see, that's the thing with opinions: YOU CAN ACTUALLY EXPRESS OPINIONS THAT OTHERS DISAGREE WITH! Another crazy concept, I know. If you're too scared to dare express something that other people disagree with, its not our problem, and we will continue posting our opinions regardless of your hurt feelings. And why should I respect Metallica? Because I think that they got popular over hundreds of more deserving bands?



No, you see, if Metallica hadn't take a wrong turn later in their career, most of their critics would stay shut about the later albums. However, right now we're talking about this one. No matter how shitty or good later albums become, it cannot change an opinion on another album. Therefore, I am actually judging this album on its own as opposed to the later ones, a concept which seems to have escaped you. I know, that's the third crazy concept of this post. Isn't learning fun?

In conclusion, you need to learn those three concepts I detailed out for you, and accept the fact that just because someone doesn't call a popular album great, does not mean they're trying to gain krieg kvlt internet elite points, and could actually be expressing what they thing. Good luck, and tell us how it turns out!

I don't think anyone here has said MOP is the greatest album of all time.

It's awesome to see MOP reviewed here. It's one of my favourite albums of all time and I still give it a spin once in a while after all these years.

So I'm an "elitist" just because I disagree with that general consensus that Master of Puppets is the greatest metal album of all time? Let me put it to you this way. I can name two metal albums released that same year (1986) off the top of my head that easily blow MOP away: Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? and Reign in Blood. I'm not saying I don't think MOP is a classic nor am I saying that I don't like the album. I do. Hell, for almost a year, Metallica (both old and new) were probably the only band I seriously listened to - this was a couple years before St. Anger was released, of course. But the more metal you get into, the more you realize Metallica really isn't that special.

Plus, I sometimes get the impression albums like Master Of Puppets wouldn't get the acclaim and praise they get right now had Metallica not drastically changed their style and alienated so many fans on their last three (and for some four) albums. Kind of like how a famous celebrity dies and then he/she is practically immortalized.

I respect the opinions of people who don't like it, but given the complexity of feelings people have for Metallica, I find their opinions difficult to take at face value.

I think people that don't like this album are wishing it was thrasier or maybe a bit more creative or 'Mustaine-like'. A bit of Black Album style dissapointment projected two albums earlier. What I think this album represents is a master architect applying his craft - it's not a musty old castle in the middle of the woods, it's the tallest, shinest new office tower in the city. Personally, I think people hate it for what it's not, not what it is.

For a very thoughtful essay on why this album sucks, read the UltraBoris review of Master of Puppets at http://www.metal-archives.com/review.php?id=547 where he proclaims it 'The album that killed heavy metal'. I read this very persuasive essay and still think this album is a classic. After listening to it again, of course.

Its fine that other people like this album....I just think its totally mediocre. James Hetfield has a dumb voice.....Kirk Hammer plays some of the most generic solos I've ever heard....and Lars has never been a good drummer. SOme of the songs are boring and plod along with disjointed heaviness. Its not a smooth or enjoyable album for me. Heresy by Paradox is 100X better than this album and in my opinion is what Metallica should have progressed into.....but sadly they took the money and ran, which is fine because they were never that great to begin with.

I'll say it again.....Heresy by Paradox, Brain Damage by Vendetta, Arise by Sepultura, Taking Over by Overkill, Fistful of Metal by Anthrax, Violence and Force by Exciter....all of these albums are better than Master of Puppets.

Court in the Act by Satan came out before Master of Puppets and is both heavier and more technical...as well as being more melodic than MoP. THerefore I cannot accept the claim that this album is a classic. I dont judge by how many people have the album, cuz lets face it, everyone and their mother has this fucking album. Unforuntately the music doesnt live up to the hype, for good music I have to turn to hidden gems such as Paradox.

I would read Ultra Boris's essay on the album if I hadnt lost respect for him when he only started showing up for the pose.

Holy Terror

weither you agree or not doesn't really matter... MoP is a classic ! :twisted:

this album goes in the short list of essential albums for newbies along with Number Of The Beast, Holy Diver, Screaming For Vengeance (some would say Painkiller :roll: ) etc...

at best this list can be extended to about 20 albums and none of the (good) albums you quoted fall into that category.

and classic albums are not necessarily the best ones, it's just the albums that appeal to the more people and can therefore be called "commercial" (which is not always wrong)...

This man speaks the truth

I'm not too familiar with him other than he likes thrash a LOT (probably jerks off to it).. but I enjoyed that essay.

Finally checked that album out.. and was totally blown away when I recognized the main melodic riff from 'Trial by Fire' from the Blind Guardian cover.. loved that song and didn't even know who it was originally from.

Very good review. One thing that should be added is the impact this album had on the metal fans at that time. It was really huge... it was something else. That's also one of the facts it makes it a classic of metal.
I don't expect convinced thrash metal fans to like Metallica too much, since Metallica were never that thrashy to begin with. If they ever looked to MOP hoping for a thrashfest of course they were not satisfied, and unfortunately they also missed on some of the (dark) splendour of the album.
The other point raised in this thread, about the dissing of their older work because of their new one, it's rather valid as well. I used to be a huge Metallica fan and now I can't even stand to hear their name spoken in a metal related context. I really have to summon all the objectivity I'm capable of to be fair even to Metallica's good albums, that big was the letdown of the last 15 years (or more). So, I think that at least at an inconscious level, many people were affected like that, and may not even realise it. I know I was.

Yeah the Satan album puts MoP to shame.

1. fist and foremost, if you can tell me where i said that it-s the greatest album ever, i-ll come over and give you oral sex.

2. so you-re not being a prick criticizing metallica PAST because of the metallica PRESENT. sorry for my misunderstanding. come here, give me a hug!

3. now, you see / i-ve said that this and that album sucked ass, as does band A and B. but when a band like Metallica, in an album like MoP, gets acclaim from loads of people who are actually into metal (so we-re not talking grammy wins and shit), i personally think that with something like that the problem is with the listener, and not with the band. we-re talking people with @good taste@ (metal... not saying that only metalheads have good taste, i-m saying people with similar taste [metal] like it), not some idiot from the grammys.

it-s like, pizza, pizza is awesome, when people day, they go to heaven and have pizza, the food of the gods. but yet, some people don-t like cheese or whatever, and hate pizza. but is pizza still not good food?

oh, and metallica already sold out their shows before they got really really big.

and one of HT-s posts, i have to agree witht teh lars thing. he sucks ass. but fact is not even his performance kills the great (imo) riffs in master, damage inc and sanitarium...
but the solols, i love them! i dunno (nor care) if they-re horribly technical, but i-ll tell you that they sound great and are memorable. fast, slow, aggressive, melodic..


god damned american keyboards.

I think it is a status thing, SOME of the time, amongst true metalheads, to bash this album. I'm not making any accusations towards specific posters on this forum, but because of what Metallica have become I think many kvlt metal fans feel the need to advertise the fact that "they never even liked their early stuff".

I for one think this IS a classic, although clearly it isn't above comparison with other contemporary thrash releases. The fact that many view it as such is not something that can tarnish the acheivement of this record, but instead an indictment of:

a) The narrow mindedness of some music journalism.
b) Foolish people's unwillingness to further explore the genre that spawned Metallica.

I think it is a status thing, SOME of the time, amongst true metalheads, to bash this album. I'm not making any accusations towards specific posters on this forum, but because of what Metallica have become I think many kvlt metal fans feel the need to advertise the fact that "they never even liked their early stuff".

I for one think this IS a classic, although clearly it isn't above comparison with other contemporary thrash releases. The fact that many view it as such is not something that can tarnish the acheivement of this record, but instead an indictment of:

a) The narrow mindedness of some music journalism.
b) Foolish people's unwillingness to further explore the genre that spawned Metallica.

oops posted that twice :oops: